Reflections on the Tattoo & Maredsous 8

It was almost exactly a year ago that I got my tattoo down in Austin. I haven't once regretted it, so that's a good sign.

This article came out well after I was inked for life, but it compiles a lot of the history of tattooing as well as the decision making process I'd come up with on my own.  The best advice he has by far is

If you’re going to get a tattoo, pick out your design, make sure it is original and has personal meaning, and then wait a year.

Following this rule is why Sarah has no tattoos yet. She has some ideas we've talked about, but nothing firm or lasting enough to make the permanent commitment. I had been working on some version of my design for over a year and I'd only gotten stronger in my conviction. Since then I've thought about getting additions in the same style.  Maybe knots or sprials or even text.  Perhaps I'll sketch them out one day, but for now I appreciate the timeliness of getting this tattoo. I had just started my family with Sarah and I was about to go to war; it was the right time for me to get some ink. I can say it's for my heritage and family and I "got it in the army" without fudging details. Those are the beginnings of conversations I'll always be comfortable having which is far more than I can say about some of the designs I've seen people sporting.

That distinction is fascinating to me and judging by the comments of the above article, many others as well. I've spent the past several years around city colleges and the military which are both rather pro-tattoo in their own ways. But a lot of people still fail to appreciate any artistic difference between different tattoos and styles consequently painting all tattoos as dumb/defiling or wonderful expression/art. I think it's an art and personal expression, but there is still such a thing as bad art and dumb expression; I'll do my best to promote good art and intelligent expression.

Sarah and I went to O'brien's Pub last night where I had the good fortune of trying a beer I'm reasonably certain was Maredsous 8.  The tap handle displaying the image of a monk and the name Maredsous. The first pint poured dark and red with a thick, creamy head. It was a bit on the sweet side with strong notes of plum and raisin that I really liked.  The second pint had less of a head, but tasted and smelled just as rich.  This is my first Belgian ale on-tap, so I wasn't sure what to expect, but it was pretty tasty.

Photo from brassam.net

Year's End & St. Bernardus Abt 12

Trying to set up our new house and celebrate the holidays pushes updating the website down the list of priorities each evening.  Sarah has been bloggin' away, though; you can follow her iPhone photos of our recent event over on From the Desk.  More to come here, though; prepare for Motorcycle Mondays to resume with gusto.

Sarah and I went to a friend's house to watch the Lesnar/Overeem fight.  It was a BYOB sort of gathering and I brought St. Bernadus Abt 12 because a] it's a Belgian abbey ale I've never had that turned up on-post and b] it looks strange enough that no-one would "accidentally" mistake it for something they brought.

Photo from Ryan Conklin at Tasty Daze

When I got it, I had no idea how much Beer Advocate loves this one. I had it chilled on ice with the lagers that other folks brought and I think that was a mistake. At first I thought it might not be cold enough. It poured with a big root beer float head and tasted over-roasted for an abbey ale. As it warmed up, it got better, but I don't think my choice in glassware helped either.  Probably one I'll have to try again.

Weekend Visit & Orval Trappist Pale Ale

My parents and youngest brother were able to fly down for a pre-deployment visit over the weekend.  They got to see the limited attractions of Fort Hood and we spent as much time as possible just hanging out.  We never made it to ride horses or go swimming, but it was really nice to just swap new and tell stories.

We did get out to the movie theater Sunday night to see Bridesmaids.  I'm not specifically a Kristen Wiig fan, but I liked the supporting cast and it got conspicuously high reviews on rottentomatoes.  This shouldn't be a spoiler, but the plot went in a direction I wasn't expecting from the trailers.  It was fun, funny, and well done, though well deserving of its R rating.

Orval Trappist Pale Ale
I chose this in Killeen at Old Chicago because it was listed as a Belgian Trappist Ale that I'd never heard of before.  Unfortunately for me it turned out to be a pale ale and a hoppy/bitter one at that.  It poured with a huge head and was far less palatable to me than the Affligem trappist ale.  I would not buy again, but hop-heads would probably love it.

Marksmanship Re-Post & Chimay Première

Blogger went down and then came back but all of the posts since Wednesday are still missing.  Hopefully they will be able to recover my post, because I don't want to hunt down all those pictures again.

In case it never comes back, I wanted to let all my loyal readers know that I shot Expert at the M4 range on Wednesday.  With iron sights on paper targets, I hit 37 out of 40 rounds which qualifies me for this new emblem on my dress uniform:

Chimay Première is the Dubbel from Chimay alongside the Grande Reserve Tripel.  It's also very good in the Belgian dark ale style, though head-to-head I think I prefer the Tripel.  This is a bit more ruddy and cloudy in appearance and less-polished in flavor.  But downright tasty and still way above average.

Kittens & Rochefort 10

I realized I have been neglecting to introduce my dear readers to Darwin (left) and Huxley (right), the kittens that Sarah and I adopted.  We had talked about getting pets for some time, including a misadventure (nearly) acquiring a puppy last summer, but the timing was never quite right.  Well Sarah found someone in the Pittsburgh area looking to give some kittens a good home which lead to these siblings joining our family.  Sarah wanted two so they could entertain each other while left alone and they seem perfectly capable of doing that.  Darwin is the female, slightly smaller and less eager to be held with a penchant for exploring.  Huxley is male, larger, and a bit more calm being handled, but he plays rougher; no qualms about using claws or nibbling on you.  It was really nice to finally meet them, since my only interaction with them prior had been through skype.  They took to me quickly, playing and sleeping near my head.  I imagine they'll change quite a bit in the year we're apart, but I hope that early bonding will be memorable for their little kitty brains.

Another Belgian Trappist Ale?  This one is a Quadrupel called Rochefort 10 that I had the pleasure of trying during Easter dinner with family.  Every ounce of this brew originated at the hands of a few careful monks inside the Abbey of Notre-Dame de Saint-Rémy.  The Rochefort series (6, 8, and 10) are numbered after an old method of rating the strength of a beer, with the 10 bearing the strongest flavors as well as 11.3% ABV.  It had a bit of the same cherry flavors as Trois Pistoles and Three Philosophers, but presented them in a more refined and balanced way that agreed with my palate.  This was a rich brew that seemed to get better as it warmed.  I will definitely be trying this again, given the chance.

Planning a Surprise and Chimay Grande Réserve

Last week I found out that I would get a 4-day weekend for Easter.  Originally I wasn't planning on doing anything, but on a whim started looking a flight prices anyway.  I happened to find a cheaper American Airlines connection through Dallas to Pittsburgh from Friday evening to Sunday evening.  A plan hatched to surprise Sarah with a visit for the weekend.  Well I arranged for my grandma to pick me up from the airport and kept the whole plan under wraps.  This was easier to accomplish considering that getting confirmation for my extended mileage pass was delayed until Thursday afternoon.  But it all fell into place and Sarah had no idea what was waiting for her outside the apartment when I messaged her from my kindle that I had sent her something that should arrive by 6.  Surprise!

My Aunt gave me a bottle of Chimay Grande Réserve for Sarah and I to try.  This is probably the most famous Trappist Ale and I had been putting off trying it since it will always be there whereas the American and  Canadian experiments in the style may disappear after only a few seasons.  This is a winner.  It's a strong dark Belgian ale with a polished taste.  It's more refined and "beer-like" than the bold dark fruit flavors that come out of Maudite, though the two pour very similarly.  Sarah and I both really enjoyed it.

Zonk & Affligem Abbey Belgian Tripel

Zonk /zɒnk/ Unofficial army command. Typically used during PT (physical training) formations during extremely uncooperative weather as a way of dismissing a unit from duty. After the command of “Zonk!!” is given the entire unit runs off screaming and shouting to their barracks rooms or cars.

That's the command we received after marching away from our 0630 formation this morning.  It was cooler this morning, but nothing unbearable.  I think my sergeants are just eager for this week to end.  Can't say I disagree with them; I've been juggled around in a predeployment medical bureaucracy for over a week now.

Affligem Abbey Belgian Tripel 

I pick this one up last weekend because it was next to the Unibroue offerings and because it had apparently won the World Beer Cup for its class three separate years.  I started off pretty unimpressed; it's lighter in body than other tripels and a little hoppier, but generally less bombastic in flavors.  I wasn't a fan for the first glass, but subsequent tastes got better until I was a little sad to finish it off.  Does this abbey ale have a complexity that only reveals itself over time?  Was I just getting used to its particular flavor profile?  Or maybe the 9.5% ABV was influencing my change in affection?  Probably a combination of the three, but tasting is not an empirical pastime and analysis can only take you so far.  I doubt I'll get it again, but I wouldn't call it bad either.